From not knowing what to budget to not spending your floral dollars wisely to micromanaging your wedding florist, there are a lot of wedding floral mistakes to try and avoid. It’s no wonder many couples find flowers to be one of the most challenging steps in the wedding planning process! We recruited a few of our favorite Pittsburgh wedding florists to share their tips on how to best navigate this tricky part of your wedding planning to-do list!
1. Not booking your florist early in the planning process
After booking your wedding venue, photographer, and wedding planner, a florist should be the next vendor that you hire. They can play a critical role in executing your desired wedding aesthetic and securing them early on can allow them to be intimately involved in the design process. Plus, doing so can actually save you money in the long run.
Late in the planning process, you are already out of money and you’ve purchased items that you don’t need because you didn’t realize how impactful just a pretty floral arrangement can be on its own. Save your money and book sooner. – Holly Hanna Floral
It is important to stick to your wedding budget. However, hiring any vendor based solely on their price is never a good idea. Find someone who can accommodate what you are comfortable spending and with whom you also have a good rapport, who is excellent at communicating, and who you feel like you can trust. This triple threat will lead to an amazing client experience for you, a beautiful wedding day, and a bank account that thanks you later.
Choose a florist who gives you that good vibe—pick someone whose work you love and with whom you feel an aesthetic connection. From there, just have fun with the process and enjoy the end result! The flowers are going to be beautiful and so are you! – Summer House Flower Co.
3. Thinking that you need to know exactly what you want and/or a lot about flowers
Don’t know the difference between an orchid and a peony? Fear not, friend. Your florist doesn’t expect you to be a flower expert, or to even know the first thing about flowers really. That is what they are for! Gather some photos of bouquets and arrangements that you like, and try to articulate what it is about them that you enjoy. Sometimes it’s even helpful to collect images of things you don’t like! Be prepared to give your florist some points from which to start, but then rely on their expertise and experience and let them do the rest.
You do not need to plan out every single flower! We don’t expect you to be experts on flowers. That’s our job! Give us colors, inspiration photos and some favorites and let us create something beautiful! – Community Flower Shop
Here is the truth of the matter: flowers cost money, and they are generally more expensive than you think. The price of a bouquet of fresh flowers at Trader Joe’s is misleading and is by no means an indication of how much a bridal bouquet is going to cost. There are several factors that play into the price of wedding florals, including equipment, supplies, staffing, time, transportation, taxes, rent, and the overall costs of running a business. You aren’t just paying for the flowers themselves. Before even reaching out to a florist, do some research on how much to realistically budget for wedding flowers. This will help you avoid sticker shock later on.
Having expectations out of sync with one’s budget is a very common problem, and it’s never a client’s fault. What normal person is walking around with the knowledge of what a 7-foot fireplace installation featuring blush dahlias and garden roses might cost?!? Only florists have this sort of knowledge, and because costs are always in flux and prices are so extremely case-specific, we don’t usually advertise base prices. Once you’ve described your vision and needs, a florist should be very clear about what things will cost, and couples need to be realistic about what they can afford. We’d all do well to remember that the gorgeous designs we see flooding our Instagram feeds tend towards the very pricey! Florists know all sorts of tricks for bringing costs down, and clients should be open to those options. – Summer House Flower Co.
5. Not spending your floral budget wisely
With the above being said, florists respect the fact that most couples are working with a finite budget. Be honest with them about what you are comfortable spending on flowers. Then, trust their suggestions. They can advise on how best to spend your floral dollars to still create an impact and get those arrangements that are most important to you, without completely wiping out your bank account.
Make a statement with your wedding flowers. Do something unexpected. In an ideal world, flowers would be everywhere (at least for me!) but having focal points in your day (i.e. a floral chandelier, floral arch, mantle flowers, etc.) really makes an impact and is something worthwhile for the overall experience while respecting that you do have a budget. – Community Flower Shop
The greenery trend came on the wedding scene a few years ago, and we don’t predict it will go anywhere any time soon. But one very common misconception is assuming that just because there are no flowers, that greenery is going to be cheaper. While greenery can be just as beautiful as fresh blooms, it can often be just as, if not more, expensive.
People often think greenery is cheaper than flowers, when in reality it takes a lot more greenery to reach the same effect as a large floral arrangement! – Sapphire & Lace Design
It’s ok to request certain types of flowers, but it’s best to not have your heart too set on any one thing. While we’re sure your florist will try their hardest to get your floral must-haves, remember that market availability is beyond their control. Be flexible and have a few back-ups ready to go in case they can’t get what you’ve requested, or if the price of doing so is just too high and you aren’t willing to go above your budget.
Trust your designer and do not attach yourself to specific blooms. We’ve all learned this year that we cannot count on the market to supply the demand and flexibility is key! – The Blue Daisy Floral Designs
Floral costs can certainly add up quickly. But if you’re looking to cut back on your spending, your bridal bouquet isn’t the place to do it. It is a focal point in your wedding day look, will be photographed a ton, and is actually something that you can preserve and cherish long after the wedding is over. This is not the place to cut corners. Go big or go home!
The bridal bouquet is the most photographed item at your wedding and something that will live on forever in your wedding photos or preserved in a frame, so it is definitely worth it to splurge! Your bouquet will be your closest companion on your wedding day as you carry it with you, so you want to make sure it is something swoon-worthy! There are lots of parts of your wedding where you can cut back on costs, but your bouquet shouldn’t be one of them! – Sapphire & Lace Design
While something might be trendy now, remember that it may no longer be in style by the time your wedding rolls around. After all, many design decisions are made several months to a year in advance of the big day. Rather than incorporating the moment’s hottest looks, choose styles that are reflective of you and your unique love story. This is a guaranteed way to ensure that your wedding never looks dated. You can never go wrong with classic.
You plan your wedding flowers sometimes over a year out. Pick your décor based on your style as a couple, then your wedding will look like it is your wedding, not everyone else’s. – Holly Hanna Floral
Whether you have a single bridesmaid or several, work with your florist to find ways to use their bouquets as reception decor. Fresh flowers on the bar, escort card table, cookie table, or along a head table add a beautiful touch to any space while allowing you to get more mileage out of these pieces, thereby stretching your floral dollar.
Not repurposing your bridesmaids bouquets is a missed opportunity! They can easily be placed in a vase with water and scattered around on tables in your reception space for added decor. A bonus to that is the bouquets stay hydrated, which allows them to be taken home and enjoyed for longer! – Sapphire & Lace Design
11. Asking your florist to recreate something you found online
Use photos that you find online as sources of inspiration, not as blueprints. Asking your florist – or any wedding vendor for that matter – to recreate something from another wedding is not only insulting to their creativity but it is also an infringement of the original artist. Instead, identify what elements you like and then work with your florist to put your own unique spin on things. This will lead to a wedding that is much more personal and meaningful to you.
With the advent of Pinterest and Instagram, clients are overwhelmed with choices and feel like they need to incorporate everything. Coming into a meeting with an *idea* of a color palette but more importantly, a FEELING for your wedding day and letting your designer use their creativity to make something one-of-a-kind for you will yield much better results. – The Blue Daisy Floral Designs
You have hired a florist for a reason, which is likely that you are not a florist yourself, and designing and arranging your wedding flowers is not something you can do on your own. So trust the experts and let them do their job. This starts with hiring the best florist for your personality and style, not simply budget. Clearly communicate your wishes with them and make sure they understand your vision, but then let them work their magic. Too much micromanaging can lead to stifled creativity and, ultimately, results that you aren’t happy with.
Resist the urge to micromanage your florist. If you’ve chosen well, you needn’t worry about controlling every last detail of your wedding flowers! Choosing well means picking somebody whose work resonates with you—somebody whose aesthetic you appreciate—and whose personality and work ethic fit with your own. Trust your instincts and your own good taste, and then trust your florist to deliver. One area in which micromanagement is common is rigidity regarding flower choice. Of course every bride should have exactly the flower varieties she wants on her wedding day, but weather, venue, and season can render certain blooms undesirable or impossible. Your florist is an expert in flowers, and they work with them every day. They knows which blooms hold up best in a certain style of bouquet, which ones are too fragrant for a dinner table, and which flowers are likely to wilt in the hot summer sun of an outdoor ceremony. Be flexible and trust that they’ll bring to life the look and feel about which you’ve been dreaming. – Summer House Flower Co.
The post 12 Wedding Floral Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on Burgh Brides – A Pittsburgh Wedding Blog.
More Stories
Elopement Videography: Locations, Costs, and Why Couples Elope
Spotlight on Flowermug – Scottish wedding florist
Harper Beckham beams as she watches her big brother Brooklyn marry billionaire heiress Nicola Peltz